Geneva, Switzerland-based Firmenich announced that it is opening its first flavor facility in Lagos, Nigeria. Designed to expand the company’s footprint in all flavor business segments across the region, the new state-of-the-art facility features labs for sweet goods, beverages and savory product development, as well as offices, it says. The new facility will serve more than 200 customers across 30 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, it adds.

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) saw more than 23,000 attendees at IFT16: Where Science Feeds Innovation. The organization’s annual meeting and food expo, which took place July 16-19 at McCormick Place in Chicago, featured various speakers, poster presentations, scientific sessions and a sold-out expo floor that had 1,222 exhibitors.

GNT Group, Mierlo, the Netherlands, is investing more than 3 million euros in its research and development capabilities. By constructing new laboratory facilities at its headquarters, the company will almost double its capacity for quality control and product development, it says.

Sensient Colors, a division of Sensient Technologies, announced a major advancement in natural color performance. Sensient’s new SupraRed, using novel natural color technology, will enable brands to deliver on growing consumer demand for natural colors from botanical sources that do not sacrifice on color brightness, the company says.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) offers its Novatol naturally sourced vitamin E, which provides a plant-based alternative for customers looking to comply with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new labeling regulations, the company says. Alpha-tocopherol, which the U.S. FDA’s new rule regarding Nutrition Facts defines as vitamin E, is an essential nutrient that is vital to human health but cannot be produced by the body itself.

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF), New York, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire David Michael & Co. Inc., Philadelphia.

Minneapolis-based Cargill announced that its primary market research data FATitudes — the consumer perspective of fat and oils in North America — has found that after sugar, fat is the second-most important ingredient consumers are monitoring on food product labels.

With a mission to harness the goodness of the Concord grape for myriad new applications, Welch’s Global Ingredients Group launched FruitWorx Concord Grape Juice Powder.

Kemin Food Technologies expanded its natural clean-label line with the release of a Kemin Fortra natural plant extract line, which provides triple-duty beverage protection by adding milkfat, flavor and color, while also preventing oxidation and degradation, the company says.

A new study commissioned by the International Food Additives Council (IFAC) on carrageenan, a stabilizing ingredient that also is used to support texture and nutrients in many foods and beverages, demonstrated that the ingredient does not induce inflammation in human cells as claimed by carrageenan critics.